This document provides information about anatomy and anatomical terminology. It defines anatomy as the study of body structure and relationships between parts. It describes the main body parts and planes, and provides the anatomical position. It then defines common anatomical terms like superior, anterior, median. Finally, it defines common terms for movements, including flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, and others.

1. Anatomy Department

2.  Anatomy – the study of the structure of
body parts and their relationships to one
another

3. Body Parts
 Trunk:
- Head & Neck
- Thorax
- Abdomen
- Pelvis
 Limbs:
- Upper Limbs
- Lower Limbs

4. Anatomical Position
- Upright standing
- Head facing forward
- Arms at the side of the body
- Palms of hands facing forward
- Feet together.

5. Body Planes
 Sagittal (Median) plane –
equal right &left
 Parasagittal (Paramedian)
plane - unequal right &left
 Coronal “Frontal” plane –
front & back
 Transverse plane (cross
section) – upper & lower
 Oblique section

6. Median (sagittal) plane
 It is a vertical plane
passing through the
center of the body,
dividing it into equal
right and left halves.
 Planes situated to one
or the other side of the
median plane and
parallel to it are
termed paramedian
(parasagittal) plane.

7. The coronal plane
 It is imaginary
vertical plane at
right angles to the
median plane.

8. The horizontal or
transverse
 Planes are at right
angles to both the
median and coronal
planes.

9. Anatomical Terms
 Superior & inferior – (in relation to the head”
 Anterior and posterior – (front and back)
 Median, Medial and lateral – (in relation to the
midline)
 Proximal and distal – (in relation to the origin of the
limbs)
 Superficial and deep – (in relation to surface)

10. 1-Superior or cranial refers to the position of a part that
is nearer to the head of a supposedly upright body,
while inferior or caudal means nearer the feet.
2-Anterior means nearer the front of the body and
posterior means nearer the back.
3-Ventral and dorsal may be used instead of anterior
and posterior in the trunk and have the advantage of
being appropriate also for four-legged. In the hand,
dorsal commonly replaces posterior, and palmar
replaces anterior. In the foot, the corresponding
surfaces are superior and inferior in the anatomical
position, but these terms are usually replaced by
dorsal (dorsum of the foot) and plantar (planta=the
sole).
3-Median means in the middle. A structure is usually
said to be median when it is bisected by the median
plane. Medial means nearer the median plane and
lateral means further away from that plane.
Anatomical Terms

11. Anatomical Terms

12. Anatomical Terms

13. Anatomical Terms
4-Superficial, meaning nearer the skin, and deep,
meaning further from it.
5-Proximal (nearer to) and distal (further from)
indicate the relative distances of structures from
the root of that structure, e.g., the root of the limb.
6-Middle, or its Latin equivalent medius, is the usual
adjective indicating a position between superior
and inferior or between anterior and posterior, but
intermediate is commonly used for a position
between lateral and medial.
7-The terms superolateral and inferomedial, or
antero-inferior and postero-superior, or any
other combination of the standard terms may be
used to show intermediate positions.

14. Anatomical Terms

15. Terms of Movements
Flexion & Extension
Abduction & Adduction
Medial Rotation & Lateral Rotation
Circumduction
Pronation & Supination (upper limb)
Inversion & Eversion (foot)
Protraction & Retraction
Depression &Elevation
Opposition (thumb with other fingers)

16. Movements
1-Flexion is approximation of the articulating bones.
It is a movement that takes place in a sagittal
plane. For example, flexion of the elbow joint
approximates the anterior surface of the forearm
to the anterior surface of the arm. It is usually an
anterior movement, but it is occasionally posterior,
as in the case of the knee joint.
2-Extension means straightening the joint and
usually takes place in a posterior direction.
3-Lateral flexion is a movement of the trunk in the
coronal plane.

17. Terms of Movements

18. Movements
4-Abduction of a limb is the movement away from
the midline of the body in the coronal plane.
5-Adduction of a limb is the movement toward the
body in the coronal plane. In the fingers and toes,
abduction is applied to the spreading of these
structures, and adduction is applied to the
drawing together of these structures. The
movements of the thumb, which are a little more
complicated, are described latter.

19. Terms of Movements

20. Movements
5-Rotation is the term applied to the movement of a
part of the body around its long axis.
 Medial rotation is the movement that results
in the anterior surface of the part facing
medially.
 Lateral rotation is the movement that results
in the anterior surface of the part facing
laterally.

21. Movements
6-Pronation of the forearm is a medial rotation of the
forearm in such a manner that the palm of the
hand faces posteriorly.
7-Supination of the forearm is a lateral rotation of
the forearm from the pronated position, so that the
palm of the hand comes to face anteriorly.
8-Circumduction is the combination in sequence of
the movements of flexion, extension, abduction,
and adduction.

22. Movements

23. Movements
9-Protraction is to move forward.
10-Retraction is to move backward.
 (Both 9&10 used to describe the forward and
backward movement of the jaw at the
temporomandibular joints or the forward and
backward movement of the scapula).

24. Movements
11-Inversion is the movement of the foot so that the
sole faces in a medial direction.
12-Eversion is the opposite movement of the foot so
that the sole faces in a lateral direction.
13. Opposition is the movement of the thumb so that
it comes into contact with the other fingers.

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